awakening

There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day. She liked then to wander alone into strange and unfamiliar places...And she found it good to dream and to be alone and unmolested.
- from The Awakening by Kate Chopin

One of my favorite passages from my favorite book, describing perfectly how I feel this morning. You know when your coffee is the perfect temperature for sipping & a wonderful song comes on Pandora? And there is sun streaming through your open window, shedding light on your messy room? Yeah, that feeling. Today will be a good day. Best wishes!

all the single ladies

A quick thought--lately, I've noticed that every single blogger I follow is somehow attached. Whether they are married, engaged, living with, or dating someone, not one blogger I've kept up with is single. In fact, most have significant others who just happen to be fabulous photographers with fabulous cameras. So, I guess what I'm asking is: where all the single lady bloggers at? Do any exist?
I'm pretty sure blogspot didn't ask me if I was single when I signed up, but I could have missed that requirement. Curious!

(For the record, my boyfriend does take pictures for me sometimes, but I'm not sure how much he adores it!)

recent treasures

A few of the things I've thrifted lately. I wore the top in this post a few days ago, and it is really comfortable and breezy. I haven't worn the other three things yet, but Raleigh and I are doing a small hike/picnic today, which may or may not be an excuse to use the soft brown backpack. The skirt fits perfectly and I'm already dreaming of Autumn ways to style it: tights, flats, button-up shirt, scarf, et viola! I love the soft pink of the necklace as well.
Have you thrifted anything great lately?

all thrifted, all the time

Now that school is out and I have the brain capacity to care about what I look like, I've had the chance to do more outfit posts! Browsing the ever-growing list of blogs I follow always inspires me to do more personal style posts, mostly because I love looking at everyone else's so much! I also think it will be fun to watch how my style might change throughout my blog--my memory isn't fabulous, so hard evidence helps. This week, three different boys took my photos for me--my roommate, friend, and boyfriend. I always think they'll be embarassed taking pictures of me in public places, but so far they don't seem to mind! (thanks boys)

I had never noticed this precious little gazebo in Fairhaven, an historic district in Bellingham--sunny days tend to make us notice things that the clouds must have covered all winter.

One thing that is interesting about this outfit, which I didn't notice until blogging them, is that every single piece of it is thrifted besides the shoes! The layer underneath is actually a maxi skirt I found at Goodwill last spring because I needed a "modest" skirt for a mission trip. I fell in love with the print, isn't it gorgeous? I'm a bit obsessed with the colors in it. I think it was $3. I wore it as a dress with a tank from Buffalo Exchange over it, and the belt was $2 at a thrift store. I love finding a new outfit in things people have discarded!



I have the next five days off, so I'm thinking either a Seattle or Canada day trip. Let's hope this sunshine continues into Monday!

summer reading

All of these books have been accumulating and waiting for me to have enough time/brain capacity to read them! As an English major, I usually have way too much assigned reading to even think about reading something on the side. I'm so happy to have the time now to laze around in the sunshine and read! I am about halfway through the Vonnegut as of yesterday and am loving it. I think I'll do Water for Elephants next.
What's on your summer reading list?

Statement Piece

A quick outfit post from a few days ago--my friend Mikey and I spent the afternoon in our favorite coffee shop, just waiting for the sun to come out. I asked him to take a few photos of me, mainly to show off this necklace that I'm currently obsessed with! My sister got it for me when she lived in Hawaii last year, and I didn't love it at first, but I've recently rediscovered it and can't stop wearing it. It adds some originality to an otherwise mediocre outfit, I think.
Tank: Forever21
Skirt: Sample Sale in Gig Harbor, WA
Belt: Thrifted
Sandals: Target

pizza & boys

A few nights ago, I was hanging out with a few of my guy friends at Starbucks (doing everything BUT homework, yay summer!) & we realized we were all starving. My family likes to have homemade pizza parties now & then, so I suggested we do that instead of going out. We picked up crust (I'd like to make my own next time, but we were huuungry) and lots of ingredients, turned some music on, and had a lot of fun! We made one BBQ pizza with garlic, chicken, mushrooms, red onions, and bacon and one Supreme pizza with red sauce, italian sausage, pepperoni, red onion, green pepper, mushroom, and olives. Seriously, they were amazing. We couldn't stop talking about them all night, as I watched "Love and Other Drugs" with just me and three boys. So many sex/nude scenes...that was a bit awkward, but it could have been worse. Can't wait to make these pizzas again soon! Next time, I want to try a white sauce and/or pesto-based pizza.









et viola!

baseball: the only sport I (borderline) understand

To celebrate my sister's graduation, my family, boyfriend & I went to a Mariners game in Seattle last week. It was a sunny beautiful day, and we ate at the Pyramid Brewery across the street from Safeco right before (I love bar food way too much). Though I am far from a sports fanatic (basically the opposite of one) I love watching baseball! I just like the whole atmosphere of a baseball game--cotton candy, garlic fries, cheering, even doing the wave (I know, I know). We even got to see a homerun before the end of the game! After seven innings with no points, it was quite exciting. My brother and his girlfriend, who live in Seattle, met us for the game & it was a perfect way to celebrate Hillary's grad and kick off summer!

don't ever change

my baby sister graduated last week! She is the last of my family to graduate high school, so we had plenty of reason to celebrate. It was so good to be home for a couple days with no classwork on my mind and just r-e-l-a-x. The only stressful thing that happened was me accidentally glueing her eyelashes together for a few seconds while attempting to apply fake lashes...j'ai regrette! But she looked gorgeous and had a great time. Now, on to bigger & better things!

By the way, her dress and shoes are from Forever 21. My tank is from there as well (only $6!), the skirt is from Urban Outfitters, and my shoes are from Old Navy. The necklace was borrowed from my mother's extensive jewelry collection.

scattered moments

summer is here, if only the sunshine would get the memo. I'm relaxing at my parent's house, ready to watch my little sister graduate tonight! And I just found out I got a 4.0 this quarter--life is good.

winnnnnner

Over a month ago I entered a giveaway on Dara's blog here and I just found out I won! She designed the top and made it herself, and I am very excited to receive such an original piece. I can't wait to get the package in the mail! Thanks Dara!

in the woods

My brother took these shots of me at the wedding (below) we went to over Memorial Day weekend. I was too excited to wear this dress! I've had it for over a year but haven't had the perfect chance to wear it until now. It's so comfortable and it doesn't need very much accessorizing because the pattern is so interesting--I paired it with turquoise earrings and some silver rings.

Dress: Forever 21
Purse: Thrifted (my new obsession)

the perfect day for a wedding

On Memorial Day weekend, my cousin and his wife finally got to make their marriage official with a huge, fun, lovely wedding! They had been trying to have their wedding for a year now, even having the venue booked and invitations ready, but James was doing boot camp & they kept keeping him in Chicago longer than expected. His wife, Cassandra, stayed with him over the summer and they ended up getting 'secretly' married in the courthouse so that she could have access on base + the other perks of being a military wife. Finally, two weeks ago, we got to celebrate it! They had it at a park overlooking the water in Poulsbo, WA, the ceremony in a covered outdoors area and the reception in a huge cabin right next door. They did the whole wedding themselves, from food to decoration, and it turned out beautiful. It had a vintage feel to it, from the bride's birdcage veil to the peacock feathers in the bridesmaid's hair to the typewriters/old cameras lining the buffet to the vintage oil lamps burning on each table--my aunt spent weeks thrifting for them. It turned out completely gorgeous, everything from the food to the dancefloor being just perfect.
My family from Idaho came over, I picked up my brother in Seattle on the way, and it was just a day brimming with love and laughter. Thankfully, the sun made its appearance just in time for the wedding and stayed there all evening. I wish the happy couple the absolute best, and congratulate my aunt and her helpers for pulling off such a lovely event!






The groom's grandparents proudly watching their grandson tie the knot!

My sweet, gorgeous aunt/mother of the groom






(how adorable is my family? My brother just killed me in his skinny tie + H&M shirt. Seattle chic!)

and on to the dance floor:






& a great night was had by all. love!